UK Immigration Compliance Audits and Training for Employers

UK immigration compliance audits play a key role in ensuring that employers who sponsor overseas workers do not breach the law on illegal working, as this can result in UK immigration civil penalties and being charged with a criminal offence.

Under the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996, it is against the law to employ a person without the necessary permission to work in the UK. Employers who illegally hire an overseas worker risk a civil penalty of up to £20,000 for each illegal worker and up to 5 years imprisonment in some cases.

In addition, employers who do not adhere to the Home Office’s sponsor obligations risk losing their sponsor licence. This may happen, for example, if they allow a sponsored worker to continue working beyond the expiry of their work visa or if they fail to keep adequate records on overseas employees. If a sponsor licence is suspended or revoked, it will not be possible to hire any new overseas workers until the matter is resolved.

UK immigration compliance audit service

Our UK immigration compliance audit team offer a number of services to ensure your organisation remains compliant with the immigration rules at all times, including:

• Free initial consultation and assessment. This may be over the phone and/or in our London-based office.
• A face-to-face meeting with the sponsorship compliance officers within your organisation.
• A thorough assessment of your existing HR systems, processes and procedures.
• Regular mock immigration audits to ensure your ongoing compliance.
• Preparation of a detailed audit report to highlight any potential gaps in your compliance and areas for improvement.

This is not an exhaustive list of our compliance audit services as we often tailor our offering to meet client needs.

If the service you require is not listed above, speak to our immigration lawyers for a free telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or complete our enquiry form.

UK immigration compliance training for employers

In addition to our audit service, we also offer UK immigration compliance training for HR employees and key personnel with sponsor licence duties, including:

• Best practice for right-to-work checks for specific visa types (i.e. Skilled Worker visa, Senior or specialist worker visa, Scale-up visa) – including how to efficiently implement a right to work checklist as part of your employee vetting process.
• Understanding the guidelines for record-keeping and Home Office reporting.
• Implementing HR systems and processes for sponsorship management.

Where necessary, we can provide bespoke training based on your specific needs.

When to get immigration compliance audit and training

It is important to understand that from your first day as a sponsor licence holder, your organisation is legally required to adhere to immigration law and is liable for any breach. For this reason, we recommend putting in place a plan for regular ongoing immigration compliance audits and training during the sponsor licence application stage. This means that you will have the necessary auditing and training in place from the outset.

By taking a proactive and preventative approach to sponsor licence compliance and training, you can ensure that you are not exposed to any unnecessary risk of civil penalty or loss of your sponsor licence.

It may also be prudent to put in place compliance auditing or training, including if/when:

• You need assistance with setting up or improving your compliance systems and processes
• You have concerns regarding your state of compliance
• An employer has informed you of concerns regarding your compliance
• The Home Office has informed you that you are being investigated for non-compliance with your sponsor obligations and duties
• Your sponsor licence has been suspended or downgraded to a B-rating
• Before a planned UKVI compliance visit
• You are applying to renew your current sponsor licence
• You have not reviewed your immigration compliance, systems, and processes for a long time.

For assistance with any UK immigration compliance matter, including auditing and training, please speak to our immigration lawyers for a free telephone consultation on 020 3744 2797 or complete our enquiry form.